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AmFam Field grows with International champions

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Alex Cejka, Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik, winners of PGA TOUR Champions titles and tournaments across the globe, are coming to Madison for the 2021 American Family Insurance Championship in June.

The championship is also adding a fourth hometown player, as Mario Tiziani will make his debut on PGA TOUR Champions under an invitational sponsor’s exemption.  Tiziani, two-time winner on the Canadian Tour, joins his brother-in-law and tournament player-host Steve Stricker, Jerry Kelly and Andy North.

Alex Cejka has already claimed a major title, winning the Regions Tradition in a playoff with Stricker after getting into the field as an alternate. [Read more…]

Stricker falls short in Traditions playoff

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Steve Stricker

Madison’s Steve Stricker fell just short of winning the third PGA Tour Champions major of his career.

Stricker, who won the Regions Tradition the last time it was held in 2019, a month after winning the U.S. Senior Open, had a three stroke lead in the final round Sunday.  But Alex Cejka rallied to take the lead before Stricker came to 18 needing to make a putt to force a playoff, which he did.

But Stricker went on to miss an 8-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole and Cejka won the Regions Tradition after making the field as first alternate when Jay Haas withdrew on Monday.

Robert Karlsson was third while Ernie Els and Madison’s Jerry Kelly tied for fourth.

By winning Sunday, Cejka earns an exemption for the next two seasons.

American Family Insurance Championship to return this summer

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University Ridge Golf Course

The American Family Insurance Championship is back in 2021 with plans to allow up to 5,000 attendees each day at University Ridge Golf Course.

The PGA Tour Champions event is scheduled for the week of June 5-13 with the three-day event to be held June 11-13.

The 5,000 daily attendees includes players, caddies, spectators, tournament staff and volunteers.  Face coverings will be required for all spectators, staff and volunteers unless actively eating or drinking.  Public bleacher seating will not be available.

The fan-favorite celebrity foursome, which has helped attract Saturday crowds of up to 25,000, will not be held this year but will return in 2022.

The American Family Insurance Championship has raised $10.2 million for American Family Children’s Hospital and more than 400 non-profits since its debut in 2016.

Tickets for the event will go on sale May 11.  Information on ticket availability can be obtained online at amfamchampionship.com under the “Get Tickets” link.

 

Kelly captures Champions tour major

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Jerry Kelly – Photo Courtesy of PGATour.com

Madison’s Jerry Kelly collected a hole-in-one on the 12th hole on Sunday, propelling himself to a 2-shot victory at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship in Akron, Ohio.

It’s Kelly’s first major victory on the PGA Tour Champions.  Scott Parel finished second, but moved to the top of the Charles Schwab Cup standings.  The two were the only players to finish under par for the week.

Kelly pockets $450,000 for the win.  It earned him a spot in The Players Championship next March and gets him a five-year exemption into the PGA Tour Champions’ season opener on the Big Island in Hawaii.

The win was the first of the year for Kelly and his seventh since turning 50 to become eligible for the PGA Tour Champions back in 2017.

Madison’s Steve Stricker shot a final round 5-over par 75 to finish 12 shots back.  After a two-under 68 in Thursday’s opening round, Stricker failed to break par the rest of the way, shooting a pair of 73’s on Friday and Saturday before closing with the 75.

 

Kelly wins on PGA Tour Champions

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Jerry Kelly – File Photo

Jerry Kelly played bogey-free golf on Sunday, closing with a 4-under-par 68, posting a 2-shot victory in the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan.  It’s the second victory of the year for the Madison native, drawing him closer to Schwab Cup leader Scott McCarron.

Kelly had a pair of birdies on the front nine, and he took control on the back nine, making his final birdie on the par-3 17th.  Woody Austin shot a final round 69 to finish along in second place.

Kelly also won two months ago, capturing the American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge in Madison.  He becomes the fourth multiple winner this year on the PGA Tour Champions, joining McCarron (three wins), and Steve Stricker and Bernhard Langer (two each).

Kelly earned $300,000 for the win after finishing the tournament at 16-under par.

Fox Point’s Skip Kendall finished tied for 48th.

 

Stricker captures his first major

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Steve Stricker

Madison’s Steve Stricker captured the first major of his professional golf career, winning his first senior major in Birmingham, Alabama.  Stricker closed with a 4-under-par 68 for a six-shot victory at the weather-delayed Regions Tradition.

Stricker took a two-shot lead into the final round and then went bogey-free on Monday, finishing at 18-under-270.  It was  his fourth win in 18 PGA Tour Champions starts.

Stricker won 12 times on the PGA Tour but never captured a major.  His best chance came at the 1998 PGA Championship, when he finished second to Vijay Singh.  Stricker also was runner-up to Miguel Angel Jimenez at last year’s Regions Tradition.

Billy Andrade, Paul Goydos and David Toms tied for second, but Stricker had no challengers down the Stretch.

Stricker now has a quick turn-around as he’s schedules to compete at the PGA Championship later this week at Bethpage Black.

Stricker earns a spot in next weeks U.S. Open

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Steve Stricker

Edgerton’s Steve Stricker has earned a spot in next weeks U.S. Open Field, qualifying in Memphis, Tennessee on Monday.  Stricker shot rounds of 68 and 65 in 36-hole sectional qualifying to earn a spot in the U.S. Open field June 14-17.

Stricker has 12 wins on the PGA Tour and a pair of wins this year on the PGA Tour Champions, but he has never won a major.  He does have 13 top-10 finishes, four of them in the U.S. Open.  Stricker’s best finishes came in 1999 when he finished fifth.  He tied for fifth in 1998.

Last year, Stricker also advanced through sectional qualifying and tied for 16th at Erin Hills.

 

Kelly wins season opening PGA Tour Champions event

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Madison’s Jerry Kelly made an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole to capture the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, giving him a victory in the season opening event on the PGA Tour Champions.

While Kelly made the birdie putt, Colin Montgomerie missed a 6-footer for par, allowing Kelly to come from one-shot down to win the tournament.

It was the third win on PGA Tour Champions for the 51-year-old Kelley, who finished tied for 14th last week at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open at Waialae.

Kelly last won in Honolulu in 2002, one of his three PGA Tour victories.

Kelly closed with a 6-under 66 for a three-day total of 18-under 198.

Bernhard Langer, who was defending the first of his seven 2017 titles, closed with a 70 to finish at 10 under.

Legendary foursome to tee it up at AmFam Championship, Osceola’s Danielson qualifies for U.S. Open

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amfam_championship_logo

The American Family Insurance Championship announced a one-of-a-kind foursome for the June 24-26 event at University Ridge in Madison.

Green Bay Packers and soon-to-be NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, will join former Packers teammate and Badgers offensive lineman Mark Tauscher, two-time U.S. Open Champion Andy North, and event host and 12-time PGA Tour winner Steve Stricker for a 9-hole scramble.

The foursome will tee off on Hole #10 following the final group of the PGA Tour Champions field (approximately 2:00 p.m.), and play the final nine holes on Saturday, June 25. [Read more…]